Applicator for applying and polishing wax



Nov. 29, 1960 I G. TERZIAN 2,961,681

APPLICATOR FOR APPLYING AND POLISHING WAX Filed Sept. 6, 1957 I ll/// v7%,.

United States Patent APPLICATOR FOR APPLYING AND POLISHING WAX NishanGarabed Terzian, 1192 Massachusetts Ave. 7 Arlington, Mass.

Filed Sept. 6, 1957, Ser. No. 682,542

6 Claims. (Cl. 15209) This invention relates to an improved applicatorfor applying and spreading paste or liquid wax on the floor or othersurface which is to be wax-coated and also for polishing a coating ofwax.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide an applicatorwhich will be long wearing, which will not be adversely affected-by thewax, water or the wax solvent, which can be cleaned easily, which can berenewed in part, and which will throughout its'life spread the waxuniformly.

As herein illustrated the applicator comprises a'rigid head block, acushion layer and a layer of fabric arranged one beneath the other inthe order named with the marginal edge of the fabric layer covering theentire lower surface of the cushion layer, folded upwardly about itsedges, and overlapping and being adhesively secured to thecushion layerand to the peripheral edge of the head block. The cushion layer'ispreferably a sponge. The fabric layer is preferably mohair having athick stiff pile on its outer side and the adhesive which unites thelayers is in the form of an impervious barrier situated between thefabric layer and the cushion layer which is insoluble in water and thewax solvent and is not adversely affected by the wax itself. Optionallya slip cover comprised of mohair fabric may be applied to the applicatorand secured thereto when the original pile surface becomes so worn as tohave lost its elficacy, thereby to renew the use of the applicator and.to obtain the benefits of the unworn cushion layer without having toobtain a completely new applicator.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference tothe accompanying drawings in which- Fig. 1 is an isometric view of anapplicator embodying the invention; s

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3 is anisometric view of the head block with'the cushion layer omitted;

Fig. 4 is an isometric view of a slip cover which may be used'to renewthe surface of the applicator shown in Figs. 1 and 2 or applied to thehead block shown in Fig. 3 without benefit of the cushion; and

Fig. 5 is an isometric view of a circular 'or disc-like applicator foruse on motor driven applying and polishing machines.

Referring to the drawings the applicator as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 iscomprised of a wooden head block 12, a cushion layer 14 and an applyinglayer 16. The head block 12 is rectangular and has a threaded opening 18in its top side set at an angle for receiving the lower threaded end ofa handle by means of which it may be pushed over the surface to whichthe wax is to be applied. The bottom side of the block is fiat and thecushion layer 14, which is substantially coextensive therewith, issuitably attached to the block for example with adhesive. The layer 14is of a soft yieldingly resistant material and preferably is porous,being comprised of porous rubber such as sponge rubber or foam rubber orof one of the porous synthetics. The cushion layer ICE 2 i 14 ispreferably about a quarter A) to a half /2) inch thick and its outersurface may be of somewhat smaller area than the side having contactwith the'block so that and yielding as 'long as the layer '16 remainsintact, that is, is not worn through or otherwise broken.

its marginal edges may be rounded olf.

The applicator layer 16 is of larger area than the cushion layer 14,covers its outer surface, its marginal edges and is turned upwardlyabout the edges of the block 12 so as to cover the junction between thecushion layer and the block. The applicator layer 16 is a woven fabrichaving a stiff pile 20 on one side, for example about oneeighth 0/8)inch in thickness and on its opposite side a layer of rubber orrubber-like material 22 which helps to anchor the pile in place and alsoto make the layer impervious. The layer 16 is fastened to the cushionlayer 14 and the block 12 by a continuous layer of adhesive 24 which isimpervious and insoluble to water and the common solvents employedin themanufacture'of'wax and also to the wax itself.

The adhesive employed herein which gives the impervious and insolublecharacteristics desired is comprised of a mixture of two (2) parts of arubber cement M244 Part land one (1) part of M244 Part 2 made by theRubber and Asbestos Corporation of Bloomfield, New Jersey, which afterbeing thoroughly mixed is thinned with a solvent so as to be easilyspreadable. The composition is applied to the back side ofthe mohairover the rubber coating, whereupon the coated mohair is laid over thecushion layer 14 and folded upwardly so as to have contact with theedges of the block and held in this position under enough tension toslightly compress the cushion layer 14. Conveniently this isaccomplished by pressing the block with the cushion layer and applicatorlayer facing down into a 'hollow mold and leaving it there until theadhesive cures. At room temperature curing takes'place in abouttwenty-four hours to make a permanent bond; The immay be'reduced byemploying artificial heat. At a temperature of F. curing may be effectedin fourhours, at 200 F. two hours and at 250 F. one hour.

The combined effect of the rubber layer 22 and the adhesive layer 24 isto make a continuous barrier between the inner surface of the'applicatorlayer "16 and the cushion layer 14 which prevents penetrationof water, wax, solvents, dirt and any other extraneous matter throughthe layer 16 into the cushion layer with the result that the cushionlayer remains'perfectly elastic Consequently the elastically yieldingnature of the applicator is preserved almost indefinitely unlikeapplicators of the conventional type wherein the wax, 'dirt'and the likeenters the poresof the pad or-'cushionand eventually clogs it up so thatit becomes hard and stiff, "rendering it useless after a short time inspite of careful washings after each use. The impervious and insolublecharacter of the adhesive also resists the caustic action of hot soapywash water and strong solvents used in the wax so that the bond remainsintact and there is no danger that the applicator layer will becomedetached from the block. By having the outer or applicator layer 16overlap the block and hence the junction between the cushion layer andthe block there is no danger that solvents or water can gain entrancebetween the block and the cushion layer.

As long as the cushion layer is maintained soft and yieldable theapplicator layer 16 will also remain soft and yieldable so that waxbeing applied to surfaces which are not entirely flat can be spreaduniformly. Moreover the yieldable nature of the cushion layer minimizesdamage and wear of the applicator layer, thereby prolonging its life.

Because of the permanence of elasticity afforded by the constructiondescribed above, it is inevitable that the pile 20 will wear down to the'basefabriceventually :and

yet the applicator will still 'have the characteristics of softness thatit had in the first place. Accordingly the applicator is provided with aslip cover 26 (Fig. 4) which may be applied to renew the pile layer. .Asshown in Fig. 4 the slip cover comprises a pile fabric 28 of the samekind attachedto the block, stitched along its opposite edges to a ply 30of suitable material for example a fabric, so as to form a tubularsheath which may be slipped endwise over the head block with the pilefabric overlying the worn out applicator layer. To hold it in place theheadblockis provided with fastener elements 32 and the ply 30 withcorresponding mating fastening elements 34 by means of which the slipcover may be removably secured in place. A pairof openings 36 is made inthe ply 30 in such a position that when the slip cover is slipped intoplace regardless of which side one of the openings 36 will come oppositethe "threaded opening 18 so as to permit the handle to be screw intoplace. After each use the slip cover may be removed and washed. Thus theapplicator maybe used indefinitely by replacing each worn out slip coverwith a new cover.

A less desirable form of applicator and one not embodying the yieldablecharacteristics described above may be made by omitting the elasticlayer 14 and applying the slip cover 26 directly to the block 12, thelatter being shown in Fig. 3 without the sponge layer applied thereto.Of course the slip cover has to be made somewhat smaller because of theabsence of the cushion layer 14.

The applicator as described above is of the block type propelled by ahandle by pushing and pulling. However the characteristics of theapplicator are desirable for motor-driven apparatus such as the singleor double brush applicators. Accordingly it is within-the scope of theinvention to make the head block circular as shown at 12a in Fig. 5. Acircular cushion layer is then secured to its underside and an applyinglayer 16a having a pile on one side and an adhesive on the other such asdescribed above is applied to the lower side of the cushion layer andfolded upwardly about the block so as to unite the applicator layer tothe sponge layer and the block.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purposeof illustration only and that this invention includes all modificationsand equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my-copending applicationSerial No. 340,260, filed March '4,

1953 and abandoned Sept. 9, 1957.

I claim:

1. An applicator for wax or the like comprising a rigid head blockhaving a flat bottom face and side edges, a yieldingly resistant cushionlayer of substantial thickness applied to the bottom face of the block,an applying layer of Woven fabric having a thick pile on its outer sidecovering the entire exposed surface of the cushion layer including itsedges, said applying layer overlapping the junction between the adjacentfaces of the head block and the cushion layer and a layer of adhesiveuniting the applying layer to the cushion layer and the lower part ofthe sides of the head block, said adhesive layer being continuous andimpervious and forming a permanent barrier between the base of thefabric applying layer and the cushion layer which excludes wax andextraneous matter from the cushion layer.

2. An applicator according to claim 1 wherein the adhesive layer isinsoluble in water and solvents such as are employed as a vehicle forwax.

3. An applicator according to claim 1 wherein the cushion layer isporous.

4. An applicator according to claim 1 wherein the cushion layer iscomprised of sponge rubber.

5. An applicator according to claim 1 wherein the applicator layer ismohair and has applied to its inner side a continuous coating of rubber.

6. The combination with an applicator having a rigid head block, ayieldingly resilient cushion layer attached to the bottom face of thehead block and a cushion protecting layer which is united to the cushionlayer and the block by a layer of adhesive which forms a permanentbarrier between the outside of the protecting layer and the cushionlayer for excluding water, wax and extraneous matter from the cushionlayer; of fastening elements attached to the block, and a slip covercomprising in part a pile fabric adapted to overlie the cushionprotecting layer and being substantially coextensive therewith, and apart engaged with the top of the head block carrying fastener elementscooperable with those on the head block for securing it in place.

References Cited in thejfile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS771,725 .Green Oct. 4, 1904 815,343 Garnet Mar. 20, 1906 1,186,960 WellsJune 13, 1916 1,639,718 Bacorn Aug. 23, 1927 1,694,983 Schaedel Dec. 11,1928 1,804,504 Henderson May 12, 1931 1,867,437 Aste July 12, 19322,055,772 Meyer Sept. 29, 1936 2,110,001 'Kingman Mar. 1, 1938 2,127,886Plon Aug. 23, 1938 2,259,220 Ussett Oct. 14, 1941 2,546,505 Heron Mar.-27, 1951 2,858,559 Carlson Nov. 4, 1958 2,869,168 Morneault Jan. 20,1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 190,958 Switzerland Aug. 2, .1937 509,071 CanadaJan; 11, 1955 646,075 Great Britain Nov. 15, 1950 709,237 GermanyAug.,1l, 1941 hmiw

